“Yes. That would do it,” commented Faris, and my gaze flicked back to him at the nonchalant tone of his voice. He pulled at his sleeves and picked off what I’d assumed was lint. Then I lost it.
“How could you? How could you just stand there and let her hurt me!” I screamed. “You let her take a part of my soul! My soul! And did nothing.”
Faris put his hands on his hips, which only infuriated me more. “Sammy baby. If I had interrupted Vorkol at her own party—if I had intervened—she would have had her entourage shred me to bits,” he said, his voice low and controlled. “First. I happen to like myself very much. And second, how am I supposed to help you escape if I’m dead?”
I let out a huff. “Why should I believe you? You’re a demon.” I was pissed off, hurt, tired, and feeling the beginnings of a claustrophobia attack if I didn’t get out of this cage soon. Or I’d simply go mad, a blabbering idiot, like my neighbor.
“I wouldn’t have risked my reputation if I didn’t care,” he said, a hint of anger in his voice.
“Reputation?” I laughed, feeling ill. “I’m in a damn cage and all you care about is your reputation.” I frowned. Part of me wanted to throw his food back in his face, but the other part, the smarter part, won. I kept the food right where it was.
“You’re a mortal. You can’t possibly understand.”
“Try me,” I growled, my stomach aching from too much stress and not enough food.
Faris sighed and shifted his weight on his feet. “It’s all I have. Here in the Netherworld, your reputation either makes you or breaks you. Unlike the mortal world, it’s not about the money or how many fancy cars you have in your garage. Here. It’s what you can do with the little power you have.”
“You mean souls?” I was starting to hate him.
“Yes.” He shrugged like that wasn’t supposed to be disturbing to me. “I’m a demon. Souls are my business.”
“It’s a sick business.” I swallowed the last of my cheese, savoring the taste on my tongue and knowing this might be the last time I’d taste cheese ever again. That was so very sad.
Faris was silent, and he sent his eyes over my cage. “What about your magic? How much of it can you use? Obviously most of it is tied to your home world, but as a witch,” he was saying as though he was talking to himself, “you have demonic blood, which means it is still operational. Just not at a hundred percent. Rusty. Like an old Buick.”
My gut tightened and I felt like I was about to vomit. “You were there, Faris. You saw what she did to my rings. Without them... I’ve got nothing.” Except for my gift, but I wasn’t about to announce it to the world right now. Besides, I didn’t even know if it’d do me any good. If Poe were here, maybe he could have helped me. But how does one get out of the Netherworld? Rifts were used to get into my world, so perhaps it was the same thing here. It made sense to me. If I wanted to get out, I needed to find a Rift to my world.
“The rings can’t be the only source of your power. You’re a dark witch, for demon’s sake. I’ve seen what you can do. There’s more magic in you than you think.”
“Not enough.” My voice was final. He didn’t have to know the rest.
“Mmm,” grumbled Faris, apparently dissatisfied. “That does pose a significant problem. Without any means of magic, it won’t be nearly enough.”
I snapped my attention back to him, the remainder of my meal forgotten. “What are you talking about?” I demanded, not liking the hint of fear in his voice. “Faris?” The distant look in his eyes and the way he was looking at me made me more nervous.
Faris’s expression twisted and he looked away. “Vorkol likes to be entertained, as you witnessed tonight. She has a healthy appetite for flaying and torture parties.”
I shrugged. “Your typical stereotypical female villain. So what?”
The mid-demon shook his head. “She’s worse,” he said. His eyes met mine and they looked completely black in the dim light. “Much worse.”
“Figures.”
“How does that mortal expression go again?” he added thoughtfully, as he cocked his head. “Make love, not war? If you ask me, I prefer sex over torture. Unless there’s a bit of sex with the torture. Then all is well.” He grinned.
I rolled my eyes. “How nice of you to be thinking about sex when I’m about to be killed.”
“Sammy darling,” drawled Faris, a sly smile on his face. “One can never stop thinking about sex. It’s unhealthy.”
“Not as much as not having sex,” I grumbled, and Logan’s face flashed in my mind’s eye before I quickly squashed it away.
“Vorkol is ancient and powerful,” Faris was saying. “She was here long before me and long before many of the lesser demons. Her favorite thing is to see suffering. She has plans for you.”
“Swell.”
“She likes to play games with mortals.” He stiffened, a muscle feathering along his jaw. “If you think today was bad, you’ll want to slice your own wrists when you see what she has planned for you.”
“You’re just full of sunshine. Aren’t you?”
Faris lifted his hands dramatically. “Why did you have to go and piss her off by killing her mate? Couldn’t you have just... ignored him? I mean—how bad could he have been?”
My jaw dropped. “He was trying to kill me,” I said incredulously. “He was also killing innocent mortals to raise some pagan god. Remember?”
He made a face, eyebrows high. “Nobody’s perfect.”
A loud boom shook the cave’s walls, and then my cage shook. My heart gave a beat before settling into a normal pace. In the distance, the sound of the grinding of rocks grew and died, like the tremor from an earthquake. Or it could have been two gargantuan demons fighting each other.
Faris whirled around towards the sound and then looked back up at me. “Sammy darling. I don’t have much time left. I’m going to do my best to get you out.”
“Your best?” Was he freaking serious? I wanted out of this cage just so I could kick his stupid, condescending demon ass.
“I mean,” his smile faltered and he cleared his throat. “I’m going to get you out. No need to get all pissy and emotional. It’s not going to be easy for me.”
“So don’t bother.” He was really starting to piss me off. Granted, he had brought me some food and water. I let my shoulders fall. “You’re deluding yourself. I’m never getting out.” The thought of spending the rest of my days locked up in this cage had my insides twisting.
The mid-demon scowled at me. “You know I think you are a hot-blooded female of the opposite sex. But right now, you’re acting like a child.”
I let out a tired laugh. “I’m exhausted, Faris. I’m tired and I hurt and I think I’m missing a part of my soul. So, forgive me for being a little pissy and emotional.” The memory of Vorkol reaching into my chest and pulling a piece of my soul had my cheese threatening to come back up.
I just wanted to go home...
The sound of a stomach rumbling reached me. I looked down at my middle and realized it wasn’t me. I glanced up to find the haggard demon still with his face stuck to the bars of his cage, his big blue eyes pleading and teary.